houchie77

Hello Everyone!


I just bought a 1997 Jeep Cherokee Sport and noticed the dashlights and marking lights do not work when the headlight switch is pulled out to either of its two positions. Interesting thing is that I can get them to come on in between the off position and the first position. Checked fuses, none are blown, no bad bulbs either. Have replaced the headlight switch and that didn't fix the problem.


Has anyone found a remedy for this issue before? I've seen some talk of the same issue on this forum but have not seen any remedies.

thanks in advance!

Motojunky

I'm new to XJs, but this sounds very much like a bad headlight switch.

wizardpc

he said he replaced the headlight switch and the same problem persisted.

Does your transmission indicator light up? The PRNDL next to the shifter should light up with your parking lights.

houchie77

No the transmission indicator light is acting the same as the dash lights and marking lights...only comes on when the headlight **** hits that "sweet" spot between the off position and the first click position (when they should normally come on).

wizardpc

I've been thinking and that's really weird that two headlight switches would do that. Can you take the replacement back and try a third? Next culprit would probably be the headlight switch connector.

There is a design flaw with all XJs regarding the headlights and headlight switch. Power for the headlights goes directly through the switch instead of a relay. Over time, this murders the switch and sometimes the connector, too. The first thing that most of us do when we buy a new-to-us xj is install a headlight harness. This one by Putco was popular for a while, but it uses funky honda relays so it fell out of favor. There is another one that uses regular bosch-style relays but I can't find a link to it right now. You can also make your own if you're feeling froggy.